A group of Indians living in Silicon Valley in the United States have sought the help of the Indian Consulate and Ministry of External Affairs after an alleged racial attack left two of them injured on Sunday, reported Hindustan Times.

Aniruddha Mondal and Monima Nandi were injured when they were trying to help Sharda K S during an argument with a group of white men and a woman in front of their apartment on Dixon Landing Road in Milpitas, California, Mondal told Hindustan Times.

Samrat, his wife Monima, Sharda and her husband Prithwi Patil all live in the same neighbourhood. Samrat and Monima’s friend Aniruddha Mondal was visiting them.

“We heard Sharda shouting for help as a group of white people (two men and a woman) were hurling abuses at her,” said Aniruddha Mondal, according to Hindustan Times. “When we tried to intervene, a white person hit me. After a few minutes, Monima was physically assaulted.”

According to Samrat Nandi, statements by the attackers indicated that it was racially motivated, reported the daily. He said he called the police but the group had escaped by the time officers arrived at the scene. Nandi took to Facebook to claim that the local authorities were yet to respond or act on their complaint.

On behalf of the group, Samrat contacted the Indian Consulate in San Francisco on Monday. Deputy Consul General Rohit Rathish assured that the matter was being taken forward, Nandi said, according to Hindustan Times.

Rathish wrote to Samrat via email that the consulate had “written to the mayor of Milpitas, the police department as well as Council members informing them about the incident and requesting their attention to the matter”.

Samrat also tweeted to Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj seeking help.